Trapped Nerves

It’s time to start feeling better

Conditions

Trapped Nerves

Having a trapped nerve can be worrying. It can mean you miss out on social occasions; it can disrupt work, sleep, family life and your mental wellbeing.

You want to know why it’s happened and how to get rid of it.

Our experienced osteopaths are here to listen and help you to:

Treatments

Causes and symptoms of a trapped nerve

There can be may different causes of a trapped nerve:

joint inflammation or swelling: As the nerves leave the spine they pass through small holes between the individual bones. If there is swelling or inflammation around those holes the nerves can get pinched.
disc bulges / ‘slipped disc’: The discs are the soft ‘shock absorbers’ between the bones of your spine. If they become inflamed or start to bulge then they can compress the nerve close by too. Despite ‘slipped disc’ being a common phrase used, they can’t actually slip out of place. Discs just bulge or swell to varying degrees.
muscle spasm: Tight or spasmed muscles than lie close to or over a nerve can compress the nerve and cause painNerves can be trapped affecting the arms, hands, legs, feet and even the face. You may feel the pain as a deep, ‘toothache type’ feeling, burning, tingling and or numbness.The pain may be some distance from where the nerve is actually trapped.

It can be difficult to find relief of the nerve pain. Often over the counter medications don’t help and you are left feeling lost, not knowing how to treat a trapped nerve.

You don’t need to worry – we can help.

We take the time to listen to you and give you a thorough examination to get to the root cause of the problem, that is specific to you.

A bespoke treatment plan and exercise programme will then be put together to get you feeling better and back doing the things you love.

Treatment for a trapped nerve

Firstly, treatment consists of establishing the root cause and identifying where the nerve is getting pinched.

Soft tissue massage, joint mobilisations, stretches and joint releases can all be used to release the pressure on the nerve, relieve the pain and improve your mobility.

You will be given exercises and advice to take home to support your treatment.

Helping you to understand why you have the problem and how we can prevent it reoccurring in the future, is key to empowering your recovery.

We always take a thorough case history and if we feel you need further investigations by your GP we will refer you on. We are also happy to work alongside and in support of any conventional treatments you may be having, thorough your GP.